Risk of skin cancer in multiple myeloma patients: a retrospective cohort study.

Immunosuppressed patients are known to have an increased incidence of skin cancer. Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) show impaired immune function. In the past, because of poor survival, the incidence of specific secondary primary malignancies such as skin cancer among these patients was difficult to establish. With more effective MM therapies that have emerged in recent years, these patients are living markedly longer, and therefore, it becomes of increasing importance to determine whether their risk of developing other medical problems such as skin cancer is increased. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 205 myeloma patients and 193 age-, race-, and gender-matched control subjects to assess the incidence of skin cancers among patients with MM and determine the specific types of and risk factors for skin cancer. We found that there is an increased occurrence of skin cancer among patients with MM compared to control subjects (26.8% vs. 16.1% in controls; P = 0.009). Among specific types of skin cancer, the proportion of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was higher than controls (P = 0.016). In addition to MM diagnosis, older age and Caucasian ethnicity were predictors of skin cancer of any type. Furthermore, older age was also a predictor of SCC.

Serum B-cell maturation antigen is elevated in multiple myeloma and correlates with disease status and survival.

Although TNFRSF17 (also designated as B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)) is expressed on tumour cells in B-cell malignancies, it has not been found in serum. The present study found that BCMA concentrations were higher in the supernatants of cultured bone marrow mononuclear cells from multiple myeloma (MM) patients than in healthy subjects. Serum BCMA levels were measured in samples from MM patients (n = 209), monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) individuals (n = 23) and age-matched controls (n = 40). BCMA was detected in the serum of untreated MM patients (n = 50) and levels were higher than in MGUS patients (P = 0·0157) and healthy subjects (P < 0·0001). Serum BCMA levels were higher among patients with progressive disease (n = 80) compared to those with responsive disease (n = 79; P = 0·0038). Among all MM patients, overall survival was shorter among patients whose serum BCMA levels were above the median (P = 0·001). We also demonstrated that sera from mice with human MM xenografts contained human BCMA, and levels correlated with the change in tumour volume in response to melphalan or cyclophosphamide with bortezomib. These results suggest that serum BCMA levels may be a new biomarker for monitoring disease status and overall survival of MM patients.

A modified regimen of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, bortezomib, and dexamethasone is effective and well tolerated in the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated synergy between bortezomib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) for relapsed/refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma (MM) patients compared to bortezomib as a single agent. This retrospective study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a more frequent low-dose schedule of PLD, bortezomib, and intravenous dexamethasone (DVD) for patients with R/R MM, many of whom were previously treated with bortezomib. Twenty-eight patients with R/R MM were treated, and 23 (83%) had been previously treated with ≥ 1 bortezomib-containing regimen. Treatment consisted of dexamethasone 40 mg intravenously, bortezomib 1.0 mg/m(2), and PLD 5.0 mg/m(2) on days 1, 4, 8, and 11 of a 28-day cycle for a maximum of eight cycles. Patients ranged from 33 to 81 years of age (median, 67) and had received 1-14 prior therapies (median, 5). At baseline, ten, nine, and nine patients were in stages I, II, and III, respectively, as defined by the International Staging System, and eight (29%) patients had elevated serum creatinine levels. The overall response rate was 61%, which included one (4%) complete response, three (11%) very good partial responses, eight (29%) partial responses, and five (18%) minimal responses. Of the 23 patients who had previously received bortezomib, 12 (52%) responded. The regimen was well tolerated with only six patients (21%) who showed worsening of their baseline peripheral neuropathy (PN). One patient discontinued this regimen due to an adverse event (grade II PN). DVD appears to represent a well-tolerated regimen with a high response rate for the treatment of R/R MM patients.

The clinical significance of B-cell maturation antigen as a therapeutic target and biomarker.

INTRODUCTION: B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is a cell membrane bound tumor necrosis factor receptor family member that is expressed exclusively on late stage normal and malignant B-cells and plasma cells. Addition of two of its ligands, B-cell activating factor and a proliferation inducting ligand, to normal B-cells cause B-cell proliferation and antibody production. Serum BCMA is elevated among patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and is a prognostic and monitoring tool for these patients. The first anti-BCMA antibody (Ab) was developed in 2007. Recently, biotech and pharmaceutical companies have created various forms of BCMA-directed Abs (naked Abs, Ab drug conjugates, and bispecific Abs) and cellular therapies (chimeric antigen receptor T-cells) with promising clinical results. Areas covered: This BCMA review encompasses full-text publications of original research articles and abstracts presented at hematology/oncology meetings. Expert commentary: The limited preclinical and ongoing clinical studies published to date evaluating BCMA-directed therapies have shown great promise. It has also been demonstrated that BCMA is solubilized and elevated in the blood of MM, Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia and CLL patients, and is also responsible for the immune deficiency in MM. Reducing circulating levels may improve the efficacy of these treatments.